Jul 16, 2019

MY JOURNEY TO THE PERFECT SMILE

STORY TIME!!

I am ALL smiles lately because I am FINALLY 1/2 way through my 10 month invisible aligner treatment with Candid! I started to notice results around month 5, and it’s only been getting better. I wanted to be candid (lol) and share my thoughts on this experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Lets start at the beginning. I got braces in Jr High, and it was such a torturous experience. With an underbite and overlapping front teeth, this meant nightly headgear and daily rubber bands. Such a joy. It was literally so painful I would go days without being able to eat. When I finally got my braces off during my sophomore year of high school, I was so happy and confident with my new straight smile. That happiness didn’t last long because my dog ate my retainer only a few months after getting my braces off, and my teeth started going back to their original state. Over the past 6 years, my teeth have gotten worse and worse and I have become more and more insecure. I hated smiling in photos and I actually became quite shy because of my smile. I finally had enough, and decided it was time to get Invisalign.

I came into contact with Candid, and they honestly changed my life. I set up my appointment and met with the sweetest team. It was a very casual experience that was nothing like my younger years in the orthodontist office. (phew) They took scans of my teeth (all digitally, which was not painful at all) and then sent them off to an off-site orthodontist to create my treatment plan. After about 1 month, I received my box of aligners in the mail. My 10 month plan includes 20 sets of aligners which I change out every 2 weeks. Every other Sunday night, I get a reminder email to move on to the next set.

In all honesty, swapping aligners has been quite a painful experience. Don’t let this scare you and stop you from starting your process though! My boyfriend has been wearing his own set of aligners as well, and says it is more of an uncomfortable feeling vs painful. I guess it all depends on your pain tolerance level, and I am a baby ;)

PRO TIPS:

Change your aligners at night before you go to bed, so that you can sleep through the most painful part.
WEAR the aligners for the full 22hrs per day. If you don't, your teeth will ache and it causes your aligners to not fit, which means you will have to wear them longer.
Chewies are your BFF. Use them to make your aligners fit snugly against the bottom of your teeth. (chewies are the little squishy minty green cylinders that come with your kit)
DON'T be afraid to email your Candid contact, because they are so helpful. No questions are stupid.
BUY a few more retainer cases off Amazon, I have lost mine a million times.
Make sure you brush both the inside + outside of your aligners after you eat, because they can get really gross if you forget to brush them properly.